Sensory measurement of the response to ‘boar taint’ in pork and in a model lipid system containing androstenone, skatole and indole

The solution to the problem of ‘boar taint’, a major limitation to the production of entire male pigs, may lie in the development of an effective sorting (classification) mechanism for quality control purposes. Attempts to relate the concentrations of the major taint - causing compounds (androstenone and skatole) to panel/consumer acceptability have been confused by the complex underlying interrelationships between the compounds and the difficulty in measuring taint reliably using a sensory panel. The main objectives of the study were; 1. To investigate sensory responses to taint compounds. 2. To identify a reliable scale of measurement of response that could lead to the development of a calibration system for the classification of pigs.